Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The amendment that you are proposing ties into clauses that relate to devolution and the move of the waters act into the MVRMA, not restructuring. This amendment as written would affect devolution.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I'm sorry. Could I could just clarify? Are you proposing that three of the eleven members on the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board, the three government members, would no longer be appointed by the government and would instead be appointed by the Gwich'in, the Sahtu, and the Tlicho?

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No, it won't affect the other regional boards, as “management area” is specifically in relation to the regional land and water boards.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The definition hasn't been changed. The change you see in proposed section 59 is essentially acknowledging the restructured board. It's saying that the restructured Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board has jurisdiction in the entire Mackenzie Valley, in comparison to what's in the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act now, which says that regional panels have jurisdiction within their specific management areas.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It's our understanding that the land and water board already has the ability to dismiss applications when proponents aren't providing adequate information. It's something we would have to consider going forward. We'd have to do analysis on whether we could make such an amendment in regulations, not in the legislation.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The first thing I would say is that overall, how both land and water regulation and environmental assessment take place in the Mackenzie Valley, notwithstanding the changes we're adding to the margins of the process, won't change following these amendments. The Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board will continue to regulate land and water.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The legislation sets out the requirement for an environmental assessment process and then a subsequent environmental impact review process. These two stages are set out in the land claim agreements. The land claims agreements are quite clear that an environmental assessment has to be conducted and then, if necessary, an environmental impact review.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No, there's nothing in the legislation that allows for that.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  The aboriginal parties shared the framework proposal with officials in November of 2011 and the minister responded in February of 2012.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think the first point I would want to make is that there are many federal ministers with jurisdiction for developments, not just the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs. There's the Minister of the Environment, and the Minister of Natural Resources Canada, for example. Those ministers are all represented at the table in the decision-making process.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Right. They would work it out the way they work it out currently.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  No.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  It would be a consensus decision between the ministers federally and the ministers with the GNWT. They make a consensus—